Year: 2017

Pa Penguins – Lots of them on Boulders Beach near Simons Town. A beachfull to be precise and the elevated boardwalk allowed us to come up to them but not to disturb them. Some came in from the ocean and went from a slide on their bellies to being upright and then waddling off in…

We stopped at Simon’s Town a lovely little town on the eastern coast of Cape Point. It is a big naval base and some warships were parked in the harbour. We wandered through the old rather quant arcades and sat at a harbour cafe for brunch and this is where I picked up the loveliest…

Capes of Hope and Capes of Needles. They have been points of extreme joy and abject devastation. Today we are drawn to them, as if by some magnetic force, but from the perfect safety of the land. The shipwrecks suffered have mostly disappeared but as I stand on the Capes I cant help but think…

Table Mountain reminded us today who is boss. This mountain doesn’t like to be ignored or taken lightly. The wind buffeted the city of Cape Town to the point where a cycle race which had been planned this weekend had to be cancelled. The bikers were shifted along, effortlessly by huge gusts of wind, which…

Remember 10 mins from this … I was on a walk- run, the weather is getting kinder, and I saw it in a little stream. White, proud with a little white crest, two legs like liquorice sticks, feet which could be black stars and a glint of yellow in its eye, but best of all…

This is my last blog about Newcastle and fittingly on International Women’s Day.This is what we think about housework – but we all love living in beautiful, character full homes and here are some of Newcastle’s finer ones. Its a record really. The government is planning some not very nice things for the city and…

Its heart is surprisingly small – there is a suburban sprawl but I confined myself to the the old historic city. The one that had convicts build the breakwater to allow easy access to the harbour,  the one that provided the Ocean Baths for its citizens,  the one that placed Fort Scratchley right at the…

A little beach envy cresting here with the waves that crash onto Newcastle Beach. The water is a lovely turquoise blue, the sand is plentiful and squeaky, like halloumi cheese, and I love the sea breeze whipping around me. Not even this puts me off !   The sign going onto the breakwater built by convicts…

It is not everyday you set off down the coast and encounter places like Woolgoolga, Bongil Bongil National Park, Boozer Creek, Bald Knob and Scone so you know you are in for a good time. We picked up so much on this journey which left us bemused and intrigued. Who would have known that Woolgoolga,…

Just finished reading a fascinating book called “Victoria and Abdul” by Shrabani Basu. This is the story of Queen Victoria, Empress of India who was sent two Indian servants from Agra for her Golden Jubilee.  One was a man called Abdul Karim, a Muslim clerk who started out waiting at table in the palace but…